Intermittently bonded optical fiber ribbon with joining ribbon matrices

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an optical fiber ribbon in which the optical fibers of the optical fiber ribbon are intermittently bonded together at bonding regions along the length of the optical fiber ribbon. The bonding regions of the optical fiber ribbon each include a joining ribbon matrix that have different colors along the length of the optical fiber ribbon.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An optical fiber ribbon comprising:
 a plurality of optical fibers arranged adjacently to each other, wherein the plurality of optical fibers have a combined width; 
 a plurality of bonding regions intermittently spaced along a length of the optical fiber ribbon, wherein at each bonding region, at least one bond is formed between two optical fibers of the plurality of optical fibers;
 the plurality of bonding regions comprising:
 a plurality of joining ribbon matrices spanning at least one of the plurality of bonding regions and spanning the combined width of the plurality of optical fibers, where one of the plurality of joining ribbon matrices is applied onto one of the plurality of bonding regions;
 wherein at least one of the plurality of joining ribbon matrices has a different color than another joining ribbon matrix of the plurality of joining ribbon matrices; and 
 wherein each joining ribbon matrix of the plurality of joining ribbon matrices has a Young's Modulus of between 1 MPa and 1300 MPa; 
 
 
 
 wherein the plurality of bonding regions comprises a first bonding region, a second bonding region, and a third bonding region; 
 wherein the plurality of joining ribbon matrices comprises a first joining ribbon matrix, a second joining ribbon matrix, and a third joining ribbon matrix; 
 wherein the first joining ribbon matrix is applied onto the first bonding region; the second joining ribbon matrix is applied onto the second bonding region, and the third joining ribbon matrix is applied onto the third bonding region; and 
 wherein the first bonding region comprises bonding between optical fibers resulting in even pairs of the optical fibers, the second bonding region comprises bonding between optical fibers resulting in odd pairs of the optical fibers, and the third bonding region comprises bonding between optical fibers resulting in even pairs of the optical fibers. 
 
     
     
       2. The optical fiber ribbon of  claim 1 , wherein each joining ribbon matrix has an elongation at break between 20% and 200%. 
     
     
       3. The optical fiber ribbon of  claim 1 , wherein each joining ribbon matrix has a viscosity between 100 centipoise (cP) and 8,000 cP at a temperature of about 25° C. 
     
     
       4. The optical fiber ribbon of  claim 1 , wherein each joining ribbon matrix has a glass transition temperature of between 20° C. and 100° C. 
     
     
       5. The optical fiber ribbon of any of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of joining ribbon matrices are spaced apart by a distance between 20 mm and 100 mm along the length of the optical fiber ribbon. 
     
     
       6. The optical fiber ribbon of any of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of joining ribbon matrices has an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the optical fiber ribbon, the angle ranging between 15° and 90°. 
     
     
       7. The optical fiber ribbon of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of joining ribbon matrices is sliced into a plurality of ribbon matrix segments, wherein the ribbon matrix segments are spaced by an incision width between 10 μm and 150 um. 
     
     
       8. The optical fiber ribbon of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of joining ribbon matrices are symmetric about a longitudinal axis of the optical fiber ribbon. 
     
     
       9. The optical fiber ribbon of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the first joining ribbon matrix has a first color and the second joining ribbon matrix and the third joining ribbon matrix have a second color. 
 
     
     
       10. The optical fiber ribbon of  claim 1 , wherein the first bonding region comprises bonding between optical fibers resulting in odd pairs of the optical fibers, the second bonding region comprises bonding between optical fibers resulting in even pairs of the optical fibers, and the third bonding region comprises bonding between optical fibers resulting in odd pairs of the optical fibers. 
     
     
       11. The optical fiber ribbon of  claim 1 , wherein the joining ribbon matrix comprises a UV curable formulation that includes one or more urethane acrylate oligomers, epoxy acrylate oligomers, one or more acrylate monomers, one or more photo-initiators, an antioxidant, and an additive. 
     
     
       12. The optical fiber ribbon of  claim 11 , wherein the additive enables the joining ribbon matrices to be transparent at near IR wavelengths or at a wavelength of about 1064 nm. 
     
     
       13. A method of preparing ribbon matrix segments of an optical fiber ribbon comprising a plurality of optical fibers and having a plurality of bonding regions intermittently spaced along a length of the optical fiber ribbon comprising:
 applying a joining ribbon matrix of a plurality of joining ribbon matrices onto each of the plurality of bonding regions;
 wherein the joining ribbon matrix includes an annotation to indicate where the joining ribbon matrix is to be sliced; 
 
 slicing the joining ribbon matrix such that optical fibers of the optical fiber ribbon are separated and ribbon matrix segments are formed, wherein slicing is performed by a laser, wherein after the slicing, a first bonding region in the plurality of bonding regions comprises bonding between optical fibers resulting in even pairs of the optical fibers, a second bonding region comprises bonding between optical fibers resulting in odd pairs of the optical fibers, and a third bonding region comprises bonding between optical fibers resulting in even pairs of the optical fibers. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the laser operates at a wavelength between about 193 nm and 10.6 um. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 13 , wherein slicing the joining ribbon matrix creates alternating pairs of optical fibers among the plurality of bonding regions. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 13 , wherein each joining ribbon matrix of the plurality of joining ribbon matrices has a Young's Modulus of between 1 MPa and 1300 MPa. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 13 , wherein each joining ribbon matrix has an elongation at break between 20% and 200%. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 13 , wherein each joining ribbon matrix has a viscosity between 100 centipoise (cP) and 8,000 cP at a temperature of about 25° C. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 13 , wherein each joining ribbon matrix has a glass transition temperature of between 20° C. and 100° C. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the bonding in the first bonding region, the second bonding region, and the third bonding region is achieved by way of respective pluralities of ribbon matrix segments.